the discovery chan nell downtown silver spring turned into a frightenings hostage situation when james jay lee, armed with a gun and with apparent bombs strapped to his chest walked in to the lobby of the discovery building. >> it sounded like two bombs. it happened so quick. people were cry, they were scared. >> reporter: an internal e-mail was september out telling them to shut themselves into the offices and not leeft building until given the all clear. lee then took three discovery workers hostage keeping them in a first floor room. in covering the developments, nbc news producer's called discovery's general number. a man identifying himself as james lee answered the phone. >> i have a gun and i have a bomb. i have several bombs strapped to my body ready to go off. i have a device that if i drop it, if i drop it, i'll [ bleep ] explode. >> reporter: four hours in to it, the standoff came to an end when police say lee pointed a

gun at one of the hostages and the s.w.a.t. team took action. >> our tactical officers were able to get into position where they were very close to him. they were watching him via camera. it is reported that he pulled out the handgun that he came in with and pointed it at one of thes hostages. >> reporter: and one of the members of the s.w.a.t. team then fired a shot. james lee was shot and killed at that point and the standoff came to an end. now, in terms of the investigation itself, we're not sure how long wayne avenue will be closed. colesville road, georgia avenue, they were closed yesterday while this was all going on and while the investigation continued. those roads of course a major thoroughfares, they are open and should not be affected for the morning rush hour. now in, terms of the hostages, also important to mention, none

of the hostages were injured. back to you. >> megan mcgrath reporting live. that bes vef. the suspect, james lee, has a history with the discovery chaenl. his hatred building over time. ahead in just a few minutes, hear from a woman who knew lee likening him to a warrior on a mission. but right now we want to turn our attention to the atlantic ocean is which beginning to look like a bit of an assembly line with three named stores. hurricane earl, tropical storm fionna and gaston. the immediate threat is earl. president obama declared an emergency in north carolina and that authorizes homeland security and fema to coordinate all disaster relief efforts. the north carolina national guard is deploying some 80 troops to help. despite orders for 30,000 people to leave hatteras island on the outer banks, some enjoyed an evening on the beach ahead of the storm. >> tom kierein joins us now to see if the storms will affect our weather. >> it certainly is for our

viewers that live on the bay and the eastern shore tomorrow. as we take a look at the satellite view, earl does continue to intensify. it is a powerful storm with winds of 140-mile-an-hour. we'll get the latest updated track in about 20 minutes and i'll show that you. here's the latest track, category 4 storm, winds moving north/northwest at 16. that would bring it right near cape hatteras by around midnight tonight. and by 8:00 on friday morning, it would be just to the east of aci teague about and just by noon friday, just east of the delaware bay. and by 8:00 p.m. friday, just off of long island right near martha's vineyard and nantucket and later friday night moving over eastern new england, cape cod and then moving away. it does appear it could be brushing right along our atlantic seaboard tomorrow. there is a hurricane watch out where you see those areas in

pink and it includes mouth of the delaware bay all the way over to the delaware beach. temperatures for us in the 70s. it's a pleasant morning under clear sky. and then maybe a small chance of a passing shower in the morning around the bay and perhaps during the afternoon here tomorrow. and breezy on saturday, but much cooler weather as we get into sunday, too. highs near 80. ashley, good morning, how is the traffic? >> well, because of the discovery channel situation that we had yesterday during rush hour, we still have a couple of road closures in effect. actually just one. wayne avenue remains blocked between georgia and colesville, but georgia is reopened as is colesville, so fortunately most of the activity has left the scene, but not all of it, so plan ahead. as you travel around, quiet on 270 head hed southbound. no big problems leaving 109. volume is not a factor. >> ashley, thanks very much. more now on that standoff at the discovery channel headquarters. this is a live look at done town silver spring right now.

coming up, that's a live picture of the lobly there at discovery. police are still stationed outside the building hours after that hostage drama ended. we have just learned the building has received the all clear now after an overnight sweep. meanwhile we're learning more about the man who triggered this ordeal, the gunman james lee. he had a history of protesting against discovery. darcy spencer has a closer look at what might have led to this standoff. >> reporter: during an armed standoff at the discovery building in silver spring, james jay lee spoke to an nbc news producer who called to check on reports about the hostage situation. >> i have a gun and i have a bomb. i have several bombs strapped to my body ready to go off. i have a device that if i drop it, if i drop it, it will [ bleep ] explode. >> reporter: lee was known to target discovery with protests, in person and p online. on his website, he nanded that discovery broadcast shows on saving the planet.

lee, who was 43 wreer years old, came to the attention of law enforcement back in 2008. he was charged with disorderly conduct after he threw money into the air in yet another protest. >> he was convicted and actually served a ten day sentence for disorderly conduct for the protest that he had organized here. >> he just through it in the air. i don't know why. so that's what i mean, his behavior yaus a little odd. >> reporter: this woman saw that protest and would occasionally see lee in the borders bookstore. once he paid her $100 to read a book about saving the planet. >> i still can't -- i don't understand what the comparison to ishmael and the discovery channel and the environment have. it didn't come together with me. >> reporter: she said lee always dressed in military style clothing and seemed to be a warrior on a mission. at border, one worker remembered lee as just another customer. >> he was pretty normal. he's been in here a couple

times, but, you know, he came in, looked for his books and he was gone. >> reporter: but authorities say lee was acting anything but normal this afternoon, strapping explosives to his body, taking three people hostage before being shot and killed by police. darcy spepser, ne espencer, new. >> lee had received services at shepherds table, which is an organization that provides help for the homeless. he did not remain, though, in that program. they say lee appeared to be transient. it's unclear where he had been living and where he made those homemade explosive devices. this morning we're learning more about the three hostages who survived that terrifying ordeal 37 one of them is a former nbc 4 employee. jim mcnatural itity was trapped inside the lobby of the discovery building for four hours yesterday after being questioned extensively by police, the three hostages were able to go home last night. he then post this had statement on his facebook page, quote, first of all, i want to that can

the montgomery county police and all the agencies that responded today for helping to ensure the safety of all my colleagues at discovery communications and for helping to get me and my fellow hostages out safely. sources tell news 4 that the sdfrry building will be open for employees today from 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. discovery executives will be there to address employees at 11:00 and counselors will be available. the offices will then close at 1:00 p.m. until next tuesday, september 7th. we just received word that the police have given the all clear for that building, so they have completed their inspection and it's all clear for people to go back inside. 4:38 is your time. 78 degrees. ahead, much more on the discovery standoff. discovery employees describe the tense scene inside the building. >> plus the armed standoff also affected some very young victims at a daycare. and why the real headaches could begin today at dm vcht. and soaring temperatures and tracking earl.

weather and traffic next.

time for weather and traffic on the 1s. i'm tom kierein. early on this thursday morning, we have a clear sky, temperatures generally in the 70s around the region. we'll reach the low 90s today with high clouds coming in. and then partly cloudy tonight and partly sunny on friday as hurricane earl passes just to the east of our region. breezy and cooler on saturday.

sunday looks great. monday into next week and the latest in ten minutes. this morning we're starting off with one closure out of silver spring left over from the issue at discovery channel. wayne avenue will still be blocked between georgia and colesville. elsewhere, things are very quiet taking a look at the 14th street bridge headed in town, no major issues to report. just got word a of new accident activity on 270 south around 109 blocking a right lane. back to you. and it is now 4:2. we have 78 degrees temperature still to come, major fenty makes an admission during his most recent debate. plus earl is coming and thousands are leaving. a look at the preparations ahead of the storm and how the hurricane is even affecting social security. and terror inside the discovery building told by those who witnessed it. >> lock us in offices that they had an issue going on

building in silver spring has just been given the all clear. police combed the building all night long looking for explosives after a man with at least one device took three people hostage in the building's lobby. police now tell nbc news that no other good explosives were found. the two employees and a security guard were not injured during the four hour standoff. police eventually shot and killed the gunman identified as james lee, a man who had protested discovery in the past. shortly after the crisis began, an nbc news producer called the discovery building and lee answered the phone. the producer spoke to him and recorded the conversation. >> i have a gun and i have a bomb. i have several bombs strapped to my body ready to go off. i have a device that if i drop it, if i drop it, it will -- i'll [ bleep ] explode.

>> a device did detonate when he was shot. authorities also sent in a robot to disarm another explosive on his body. discovery channel has almost 1900 employees working in that headquarters building. each of them has their own story to tell. tracee wilkins is live in silver spring with what some of them are saying. >> reporter: when you work in a large building in the washington area, you know about drill procedures, but that still does not completely prepare you for the reality of having to do one of those drills. yesterday around 1:00 p.m., the suspected gun man entered the discovery communications building. he interrupted what was a business as usual kind of day. some people were working in their offices. others were going or returning from lunch when their lives were abruptly changed. >> the nurse came over the p.a. system saying there was a situation in the lobby and so we were trying to get to offices and looking out the windows at

the same time and seen police circling up around the building. >> they told us that there's a gunman in the lobby and for us to lock ourselves in closed offices. >> reporter: here on wayne, you can see police still have the road closest to discovery closed here on the south end of the building. the police still do have closures immediately around discovery. at least here on wayne, and that may impact some people in how they're trying to get over to the metro later on this morning. but the vice president for communications said yesterday here at discovery that the bottom line is the culture for this building and this operation helped those people to quickly move out safely and made this a much better situation than it could have been. i'm tracee wilkins live in silver springs. back to you in the studio. >> thanks very much. dozens of children who attend a daycare center inside the coverry building were also

evacuated. about 70 children and teachers were escorted by police across the street. in some cases they were doubled up in cribs and wheeled down the sidewalk. students at the near by saint michael's school unless lock down mode until the situation was over. and we'll have much more on this standoff situation throughout our morning newscast. you can get the time line of events at nbcwashington.com. happening today, formal mideast peace negotiations begin today here in washington. last night president obama hosted israelry and pal less taken why not leaders at the white house. s it is the first direct talks between the two groups in nearly two years. >> it is the shoulders of our predecessors upon which we stand. it is their work that we carry on. now like each of them, we must ask, do we have the wisdom and the courage to walk the path of

peace? >> hillary clinton, jordan's king and tony blair will take part in the negotiations to create a palestinian state. the plan is to come up with a peace deal by this time next year. hurricane season is gaining strength as three major storms churn in the atlantic. take a look at hurricane earl and two tropical storms fionna and gaston. martin o'malley -- maryland's governor martin o'malley signed a declaration of emergency with earl sitting just off the shore. kristen dahlgren has more on preparations ahead of the storm. >> reporter: as darkness fell on the carolina coast, earl strengthened, bringing with it powerful waves. but also uncertainty. >> earl is a big unknown. if it stays out to sea, we probably would have been okay and gotten rain. >> do you board up? >> i haven't yet to this point,

but this might be the first. >> reporter: but physicians warm that the slightest change could bring a direct hit and that et way, hurricane or tropical storm force winds are now less than a day away. and so in parts of the outer bank, mandatory evacuations are under way. and watches and warnings in effect for north carolina all the way to new england. a huge stretch of the east coast in the strike zone. >> the hurricane's coming and i'm hoping we can make it back into town fairly quickly. i'm a little nervous about the roads and the backups of the evacuations. >> reporter: and so anxious vacationers packed in their weekend plans, headed to safer ground, while on new york's long island, boats were hauled out of the water. >> the tidal surge will be tremendous, above all the pilings. if a piling comes down on one these boats, it will sink. >> reporter: as millions now watch to see where earl will go, the storm already crashing labor day weekend plans up and down the coast. here in north carolina, some

national guard troops have already been deployed along the coast. meantime the president has answered the call for federal aid and fema is standing by ready to help out. the storm expected to be at its worst here in the outer banks sometime overnight tonight into tomorrow morning. kristen dahlgren. the social security administration will deliver money today in ten states. and let's get a look at our forecast, too. will earl have any affect on our labor day weekend? >> right now as we mentioned, we've got three active storms in the atlantic. of course we've got powerful hurricane earl. we have fionna, which is a tropical storm that's gaining strength. and likely, though, will stay farther to the east than earl. and then gaston, much farther to the east, also a tropical storm.

well, here's the closer view of what earl's been doing over the last 12 hours. it has a well defined eye. it has for youerful winds right asht center of circulation, leading edge of the rains are now just a couple hundred miles away from the outer banks of north carolina. these are the latest statistics. this just came in just a couple minutes ago.winds have increased. and that is unusual for overnight hours. usually it happens during the day. so this is a you powerful storm, category 4, 145-miles-per-hour winds moving north/northwest at 16. the pressure is dropping and here is the latest track. it looked like it is stay a category 4 storm now, the latest tropical prediction center predicting that by friday 2:00 a.m., the center of circulation will be maybe just about 30 miles to the east of cape hatteras. and then during the morning hours on friday, it will be east of virginia beach, perhaps right around 8:00 on friday morning. and then by noon time just east of ocean city, by 2:00 p.m.

friday just off of cape may new jersey, and even though the center of circumstance hags will be off the coast, the tropical storm force winds will certainly be felt right along the atlantic beaches and then affecting new england. look at all the tropical storm watches and warnings that are up. this is a hurricane warning, this red zone around the outer banks from virginia beach all the way town through north carolina. farther to the north, this is a hurricane watch for our atlantic beaches along the shore of the -- from delaware all the way down through virginia shore line, that is a hurricane watch. and the likely effects from the storm, very wet ocean city on friday with tropical bands of heavy rain coming in. tropical storm force winds. for us this morning, we have temperatures around the region in the 70s. 77 in washington, and beef got a huge area of high pressure, so plenty of sunshine today. we'll have temperatures climbing to the low ninth by midafternoon and overnight tonight, partly cloudy, here 70 by dawn tomorrow. and then friday, chance of a passing shower here, greater chance, though, from the bay

aes. highs mid-80s. and then dry for the weekend. hooks like a beautiful weekend, a bit breezy on saturday and sunday, highs near 80. a little hotter next week. ashley, how is the traffic? this early morning, we're starting you off with new accident. 270 headed southbound, quiet past the exit for 109, but up towards the top of the screen, do you see volume. that's due to the right lane being blocked due to an accident. 95, no big problems out of virginia this early morning. we're starting of on you clean and clear on 95. this is past # 23. no big problems center of your screen there is the hov headed northbound. 4:54 is your time. about 78 degrees. coming up, our live team coverage of the hostage drama at the discovery building tips. what happened inside the building while you slept. also up and running now. virginia's dmv should be good to go this morning. but the lines will have drivers hitting the brakes. and next, another chance

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the second public hearing will be held tonight in largo. that begins at 6:00 p.m. at the prince george's county community college. the extra have a dmv computer glitch is fixed and that means you can finally get your driver's license renewed. the computer glitch kept thousands of virginians from getting their licenses renewed. today all 74 dmvs will be fully operational. as many as 45,000 virginians have not been able to renew their licenses since the problem began last week. and you'll have more time to do it now. all dmvs will remain open until 6:00 p.m. tonight and tomorrow. hours of operation will be tended on saturday at 14 dmvs including facilities inle alexandria, fair oaks, wood bridge and leesburg. mayor fenty says he wants foughter tos to give him another chance. fenty and his opponent squared off in an hour long debate sponsored by nbc 4, the post

post and 88.5 radio. fenty acknowledged his personality has turned off too much voters. gray says fenty has not had a change of heart, but a change of strategy. >> what they want fre fr me in the second term is someone who makes sure we listen better. with my high energy and with the commitment and what i've heard from residents, we're committed to doing that in the second term. it's a lesson learned. >> frankly, i don't think it's a change of heart. i think it's a change of strategy. and that is to try convince people now that i'm going to be a different person than i've been for three years and 8 1/2 months of a term that you're going to become a different person? two weeks? i don't think so. >> despite fenty's strong appeals, some of his supporters say it may have come too late to save him this time around. you can watch the entire debate today at noon right here on nbc

4. and news 4 today continues right now at 5:00. i have a gun and and i have bomb. >> a chilling phone call with the armed man who held three people hostage at the discovery building. this morning we're learning who are about the suspect and the motives behind his actions. good morning, i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm eun yang. this morning hurricane earl has made its move toward the eastern seaboard plodding along up the east coast. the powerful storm is expected to pack ak curian is here to te why it's going. >> it's now a category 4 storm. winds have increased to 145. and southeast of earl is tropical storm fionna getting better organized and then

there's gaston much farther to the south and east. here's the latest look at earl over the last 12 hours. it has gained strength. it has a well formed eye and the area of orange you see there is the lighter orange is the tropical storm force winds. those tropical storm force win s s will likely be inland into southeastern virginia by midnight tonight and then during the morning hours tomorrow, the lower part of the bay and at the atlantic beaches and lower eastern shore, they will have those tropical storm force winds. and it will then rapidly move off to the north and east and affect new england by midnight friday night. but the greatest threat for us time wise for our atlantic beaches will be from dawn tomorrow through around noon time and then it will rapidly move off to the north and east. and for us, we do have hurricane watches up on the atlantic beaches down to virginia beach. right now we're in the 70s around the region under a clear sky, 77 in washington. highs today low 90s with shall

high clouds. mid-80s tomorrow. chance of a passing shower here. but tropical storm all around the eastern shore will be affecting the winds there as well as the heavy rain. and then breezy and cooler saturday, sunday sunny near 80. let's check traffic. starting off out of virginia, let's take a look at 66 this early morning. it is quiet as you make your way all the way from i-81 headed for the capital beltway. this is the pace just prior to the beltway and those cars headed away from us are headed towards the beltway. as we true 270 southbound, volume heavy down towards just beyond 109. we do have the accident blocking the right lane. joe, back to you. the discovery channel building in silver spring has justs been given the all clear some 16 hours after a gunman with explosives held three people inside as hostages.

that man had at least one explosive device strapped to his body. the hostages were held for several hours but everily did get out safely. the gunman was shot and killed by police. this morning he's been identified as james lee, a man who has protested outside the discovery building before. court records seem to indicate that he did what he did yesterday because he was angry about the network's programming. it was terribly frightening ordeal for the hundreds of employees who worked in that building. and news 4's megan mcgrath joins us from the creep with more. >> reporter: as you mentioned, the all clear has been given for the building. police have searched the entire building, the lobby area, they have not found any additional explosives. you can see behind me that wayne avenue, however, is still closed. the building is still off-limits to employees at least for the time being. you can see through and into the lobby area, we still have investigators inside, they're collecting physical evidence because this still is considered a crime scene.

now, a very, very frightening situation for employees yesterday. james lee burst into the building in, to the lobby area, he had a gun, he also had a bomb strapped to his body. he then took three hostages. police and s.w.a.t. teams moved in. what began as an ordinary day at the discovery channel downtown silver spring turned into a frightening hostage situation when james jay lee, armed with a gun and with apparent bombs strapped to his chest walked in to the lobby of the discovery building. >> it sounded like two pops. it happened so quick. people were crying, they were scared. >> reporter: an internal e-mail was sent out telling them to shut themselves into the offices and not leave the building until given the all clear. lee then took three discovery workers hostage keeping them in

a first floor room. in covering the developments, nbc news producers called discovery's general number. a man identifying himself as james lee answered the phone. >> i have a gun and i have a bomb. i have several bombs strapped to my body ready to go off. i have a device that if i drop it, if i drop it, i'll [ bleep ] explode. >> reporter: four hours in to it, the standoff came to an end when police say lee pointed a gun at one of the hostages and the s.w.a.t. team took action. >> our tactical officers were able to get into position where they were very close to him. they were watching him via camera. it is reported that he pulled out the handgun that he came in with and pointed it at one of the hostages. >> reporter: at that point one of the members of the s.w.a.t. team opened fire and fatally shot james lee. the device that was strappeded

to his chest did pop and smoke. it's important to mention that none of the hostages were injured. now lee did bring in apparently a number of other items with him, a box, a backpack, other things, but police have said that they have not found any other explosive twices and the all clear has been given, but it won't be until later today that the building is reopened. >> thanks very much, megan. we're learning more about the three hostages who survived that terrifying ordeal. one of them a former nbc 4 employee. jim mcnulty was trapped inside the lobby of the discovery building for four hours yesterday before after being questioned extensively by police, the hostages were able to go home last night. mcnulty then posted this statement on his facebook stage. quote, first of all, i want to thankt montgomery county police and all the agencies that responded today for helping to ensure the safety of all my colleagues at discovery communications and for helping to get me and my fellow hostages out safely. sources tell news 4 that the discovery building will be open

for employees today from 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. discovery executives will be there to address employees at 11:00 and counselors will also be available. the offices will then close at 1:00 p.m. until next tuesday, september 7th. and this morning some 12 hours after the end of that hostage standoff, we're getting a better picture of the gunman behind it all. >> james lee had a history of protesting against the discovery channel. >> his anger had even landed him in trouble with the law before. >> elaine reyes joins us live with more. >> about people who were aware of lee say that he appeared to be troubled and a transient with no known home. it's not clear how and where he was able to make those homemade explosive devices. 43-year-old james lee was known to some at the discovery channel. he targeted them with protests in person and online. take a look at this video from a past incident in front of the building. back in 2008, he was arrested

for disorderly conduct. in this youtube video, lee is in the middle of the crowd throwing money in the air. he wanted more discovery channel shows on saving the planet and reduce the birth of what he called parasitic human infants. lee would also frequent a silver spring bookstore. we spoke with one woman who had contact with him and even read a book that he promoted. >> he threw it up in the air. >> what did he do, just take a huge stack and -- >> he did, just through it in the air. i don't know why. so his behavior was a little odd. >> lee has previous addresses in hawaii, california, and washington state, but he has lived in our area for the past several years. hes has also received services at shepherd's table in silver spring, an organization that helps provide for the homeless. but apparently he did not remain in that program. back to you. >> thank you. 5:08 is your time. we've seen the dramatic video

from outside the discovery building. ahead employees inside tell us what it was like. plus preparations are under way now for earl. the storm bearing down on the coast and right now gaining strength. and a check of how the storm will impact us. you hmm, do i wear hats?

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time for weather and traffic

on the 1s. it's 5:11. we have clear sky, temperatures generally in the 70s. highs reaching low 90s with high clouds. partly cloudy tomorrow as earl moves along the atlantic beaches east of there during the day friday, might have a passing shower as far west as the washington region. but just a small chance of that. a greater chance around the bay and the eastern shore. highs mid-80s. cooler for the weekend. a look at labor day into next week as well as the latest on earl in ten minutes. how is the traffic? start you off with a couple trouble areas. wayne avenue between colesville and georgia remains shut down as a result of yesterday's issue. elsewhere, toll road greenway no problems to report, but along route 7, traffic signals are dark. police are directing there. and traveling down 270, no problems to report, but we did have an earlier fender-bender blocking the right lane beyond 109. >> thanks, ashley. 5:12 is your time. 78 degrees.

ahead on news 4 today, improving safety on metro will not come cleanly. the billion dollar task facing the agency. plus a washington national who is no stranger to trouble finds himself in the middle of a brawl and at the bottom of a pile. and next, employees describe what it was like inside the discovery headquarters during a hostage standoff.

after searching the building throughout the night, police tells nbc news that the discovery channel building has been given the all clear. this comes after a man strapped with at least one explosive tk three people hostage and held them inside. this is a live look at that scene this morning. those hostages eventually escaped safely, but the gunman was shot and killed by police. this morning we're learning he had a history of anger toward discovery and had staged protests before. some streets around the discovery building are still blocked off, so drivers in the area should allow for extra time in their commute. discovery channel had nearly 1900 employees working in that headquarters building. and each of them has his or her own story. news 4's tracee wilkins is live in silver spring with details. >> reporter: good morning. we spoke with people both inside the building and outside of the building. it was just chaotic for people who were returning to that building as it was for folks who were on the inside. everyone trying to figure out what was going on. of course employees worried

about their co-work he is and it took a while for information to come down the line. but discovery communications does a very good job of making sure that people understood the seriousness of what was happening. and any large building, if you work in one this washington, d.c., they do prepare you for these drills. but it's knoll like actually going through it. yesterday around 1:00 p.m. when the suspected gunman entered the building, he interrupted what was a business as usual kind of day. some people were working in the offices. others were going to or returning from lunch when their lives were abruptly changed. >> they told us to evacuate to a nearby stairwell. >> they evacuated us all to the one wing of the building, the georgia side of the building, and we wait there had for a little while and then someone came through and said exit the building out to the parking garage. >> reporter: we're showing what you's happening here on wayne avenue. they still have this road partially closed here on the

south side of the discovery building. folks coming from metro, you can see that they have them walking down the sidewalk, they've got some extra barricades there and then people can come out on the bottom of that sidewalk closest to colesville road, here. so this is still happening. although they have given the all clear for the discovery building, we're still seeing that she have blocked off parts of wayne avenue and are also redirecting metro traffic, as well. tracee wilkins live in silver spring, back to you in the studio. the way police handled yesterday's hostage situation is credited with saving lives. retired maryland state police sergeant explained the procedure used to make sure everyone is safe even after the gunman is no longer a threat.

he said swat members would make sure hostages would not be in the way before taking their shots. dozens of kids who attended a daycare center inside the building weres also evacuated. about 70 children and their teachers were escorted by police across the street. in some cases the infants and young children were doubled up in cribs and wheeled down the sidewalk. students at nearby st. michael's school was unless a lock down until the situation was over. and we'll have much more throughout the morning here. we'll also have updates on how the police investigation is affecting traffic in the silver spring area this morning. and you can get the latest information anytime by visiting our website at nbcwashington.com. happening today, formal mideast peace negotiations begin today in washington. last night president barack obama hosted israeli and palestinian leaders at the white house. it is the first direct talks between the two groups in nearly

two years. >> it is the shoulders of our predecessors upon which we stand. it is their work that we carry on. now like each of them, we must ask do we have the wisdom and the courage to walk the path of peace? >> secretary of state hillary clinton, jordan's king abdallah and britain's tony blair will take part in the negotiations to create a palestinian state. the plan is to come up with peace deal by this time next year. metro says complies with the federal recommendations after last year's fatal red line crash could cost at least $935 million. the most expensive change would be to replace the transit agency's oldest railcars. that would cost about $838 million. metro estimates replacing the track circuit modules blamed for the june 2009 crash would cost about $55 million. the red line crash killed nine

people and left dozens others injured. those are the first costs released buy since the recommendations. nd at east coast will get a taste of the atlantic hurricane season. we have hurricane earl looming off the coast and two tropical storms right behind it. emergency tishls are preparing for earl to brush the coast today. president obama has declared an emergency in north carolina and that authorizes the department of homeland security and fema to coordinate all disaster relief efforts. many vacationers are obeying the evacuation ordinary orders and getting out of earl's way. governor o'malley signed a declaration of emergency that requires state emergency management officials to coordinate all of their activities. busy out there in the atlantic. >> sure is. >> tom's here to break it down for us. >> these active named storms now. there could be a fourth, in fact, later today.

at this hour, all our concern now is about earl. here's the very latest. all this information updated just 30 minutes ago. here's earl, what it's been doing over the last 12 hours, it has increased in strength overnight. and the winds are now at 145 miles an hour. a category 4 storm moving north/northwest at 16, but the good news is it will gradually weaken by the time it gets east of virginia beach. but it looks like it will stay a category 4 storm all the way until it hits the outer banks. that would be around midnight tonight with hurricane force winds there and the tropical storm force winds in the outer circle you see affecting southeastern virginia and the lower part of the eastern shore. that would be around midnight tonight. and then by dawn tomorrow, it will be affecting our atlantic beaches, the maryland shore line, the extra have a and delaware shore line, during the morning hours tomorrow with tropical storm force wind by 2:00 friday afternoon, it hooks like it will be east of cape may. so moving quickly and then affecting southern new england by midnight tomorrow night.

for us today, highs reaching the low 90s. right now it's in the 70s under a clear sky. mid-80s tomorrow p. small chance of a shower. breezy and cooler saturday with sunshine. sunday and labor day looking great. sunshine highs near 80 sunday, low to mid-80s monday, low humidity, a bit warmer tuesday, wednesday. how is the traffic? let's dive right into virginia. 95 northbound, no problems as you can see in the camera shot here towards the kalt beltway, all open. as you travel around the capital well way, volume on the increase and out of silver spring, we still have wayne avenue shut down between colesville and georgia due to the police incident yesterday. >> thanks very much, ashley. 5:22 is the time. 76 degrees. coming up, police work through the night at the discovery building. this morning they remain on the scene after that tense standoff. what we're learning about the man at the center of the scare. plus the redskins lock up a quarterback, but it's not the one you're thinking of. >> and a base brawl. one national throws a punch and

then, boom, gets pummeled.

he's charging the mound. morgan's coming of a her him and the marlins are pummeling him. oh, goodness. morgan at the bottom of the pile. both benches empty. >> the nationals may be without nyjer morgan after this big

brawl. he charged the mound after the marlins' chris volstad threw a hitch behind him. all of this came a day after more began separated the shoulder of a catcher while colliding him at home plate, a commission some have called a cheap shot and criticized by riggleman. morgan and volstad were both ejected along with some others. boom. >> the redskins wrap up their preseason schedule tonight in arizona. the skins appear set on whom their third string quarterback will be. john beck has reportedly signed a contract extension. that all but ensures he'll win the job. he may get some playing time in tonight's game that starts at 10:00 p. and you can catch it right here on nbc 4. right now still ahead, two big stories this morning. we are watching the situation -- preparations under way for earl and the storm is

actually getting stronger. we'll have an update. and you're looking live at the discovery channel headquarters. still a very active crime scene. the latest on the standoff and the man whose anger with discovery drove hi

i have a gun and i have a

bomb. >> eerily calm, this morning we're hearing the chilling phone call from the man at the center of a hostage standoff moments before the violent he said. >> sounded like two pops. it happened so quick. people were crying, they were scared. nobody knew what was going on. >> we're also hearing from people inside and learning more about the suspect's past. good morning, i'm eun yang. >> i'm joe krebss. welcome to news 4 today. it's thursday, the second of september, 2010. this morning hurricane earl has made its way toward the eastern seaboard.storm actually gained strength overnight and is now a threat to the coast. >> and tom kierein here to tell us where the storm is heading and if it will affect our weather. >> it will t. certainly is affecting the weather from virginia beach all the way up to the delaware bay. but right now we also have concerns about gaston and fionna, as yet another wave coming off the african coast, may be a fourth named storm

later today. but earl has gained strength overnight.winds are up to 145 miles per hour traveling north/northwest at about 16, but it will gradually weaken after it gets past the outer banks. but by midnight tonight, it will be passing right over the outer banks with hurricane force winds and heavy rain. and then along our atlantic beaches, the extra have a, maryland and delaware shore line during the morning tomorrow, then quickly heading toward new england by tomorrow night and into saturday. for us this morning, we've got hurricane watches out for the atlantic beaches. we'll have our temperatures that are now in the 70s climb to go the low 90s this afternoon. tomorrow mid-80s. small chance of a shower. breezy and cooler saturday. sunday bright and sunny. ashley, how is the traffic? even though it's dark out, it is bright and sunny on the roadways. no big problems to start you off this early morning as we take a look at 270 headed southbound. we did have a minor accident,s about no too bad. you pick up company headed down

past 109, but other than that you're in the clear. volume on the increase on 95 headed for the springfield interchange. those headlines continuing towards 395. no accidents. back to you. after carefully combing through the discovery channel's headquarters in silver spring, police have just given the all clear. this comes after a gunman with explosives held three people hostage inside the lob bift building. this is a live look this morning at discovery headquarters in silver spring. those hostages eventually escaped to safety. the gunman was shot and killed by police. this morning he is being identified as james lee, a man who has protested outside the discovery building before. most of the discovery's 1900 employees were evacuated safely as news spread that a gunman was inside the building. news 4's megan mcgrath joins us live from silver spring this morning with more on the story. good morning. >> reporter: well, good morning. i got an update from police just

moments ago. and what they are saying is that they're going to maintain control of the lobby area where this happened for several more hours. they've given the all clear in the other sections of the building. employees can go in and out of other areas, other entrances, but they will not be able to go through the lobly area because, again, it remines a crime scene. we've got officers who are inside still collecting evidence. the all-clear has been given too, with other explosives that might have been brought in. they say will is no threat so they'll just maintain control of that one area. a terrifying situation for employees of discovery. many were coming back from lunch when a man with a bomb strapped to his chest waving a gun burst into the lobby and took hostages. >> reporter: police and s.w.a.t.

teams moved in. what began as an ordinary day at discovery channel turned in to a frightening hostage situation. when james jay lee, armed with a fwun a gun and bombs strapped to his chest walked in to the lobby of the discovery building. >> it sounded like two pops. nobody knew what was going on. >> reporter: an internal e-mail was sent out to employees telling them to shut themselves into their offices and not leave the building until given the all-clear. lee then took three discovery workers hostage keeping them in a first floor room. in covering the developments, nbc news producers called discovery's general number. a man identifying himself as james lee answered the phone. >> i have a gun and i have a bomb. i have several bombs strapped to my body ready to go off. i have a device that if i drop it, if i drop it, i'll [ bleep ] explode. >> reporter: four hours in to it, the standoff came to an end

when police say lee pointed a gun at one of the hostages and the s.w.a.t. team took action. >> our tactical officers were able to get into position where they were very close to him. they were watching him via camera. it is reported that he pulled out the handgun that he came in with and pointed it at one of the hostages. >> reporter: and one of the members of the s.w.a.t. team sthep fatally shot james lee. the hostages were not injured. a live look on the scene, you can see investigators still here in that lobby area and that's apparently going to be the case for several more hours. >> megan mcgrath, live in silver spring. thanks. and this morning the standoff may be over, but questions still remain about the gunman. who was james lee? was where he from and what led to his anger at discovery? what we do no, he was 43 years

old, he has previous addresses in hawaii, california and washington state, but he's lived in our area for the past several years. and he was apparently angry with discovery's programming. elaine reyes has more. >> james lee was well-known to some at the discovery channel. he targeted them with protests in person and on line and has apparently lived in our area for the past several years. take a look at this joid from a past incident in front of this headquarters building. back in 2008, he was arrested for disorderly conduct. in this youtube video, lee is in the middle of the crowd throwing money into the air. he wanted more discovery channel shows on on safing the planet and reduce the births of what he called parasitic human infants. the judge gave him a six month suspended sentence and warned him he could face 60 days in jail if he ever came again within 500 feet of the building. people who were aware of lee say he appeared to be troubled, a

transient with no known home. and it's not clear where and how he was able to obtain weapons and the homemade explosive devices. >> there are a lot of people that said he's just crazy, just blow it off. >> what was it about mr. lee's clothes that you were telling me earlier? >> military. military style. like he was in battle. >> reporter: shovely before yesterday, he posted a list of his demands online. he had also received services at shepherd's table, an organization in silver springs that provides help for the homeless, but apparently he did not remain in that program. joe, back to you. this morning we're learning more about the three hostages who survived that terrifying ordeal. one of them is a former nbc 4 employee. jim mcnulty was trapped inside the lobby of the discovery building for four hours yesterday after being questioned extensively by police, the three hostages were able to go home last night p.

mcnulty then posted this statement on his facebook page. quote, first of all, i want to thank the montgomery county police and all the agencies that responded today for helping to ensure the safety of all my colleagues at discovery communications and for help to go get me and my fellow hostages out safely. several hundred people work at discovery chaenl in silver spring. about 1900. still ahead, we'll hear from those who were evacuated to safety. we're live with their story. 5:38 is your time. 75 degrees. ahead this morning, mayor fenty makes an admission during the most recent debate. plus earl has strengthened overnight and tom says that is unusual. he'll tell us how the storm will affect us and we'll also check traffic coming u

weather and traffic on the 1s. good morning, i'm tom kierein. temperatures under a clear sky. we'll climb in the low 90s. partly cloudy tonight and tomorrow partly sunny. small chance of a passing shower, but a likelihood of that on the eastern shore as earl passes to the east of the atlantic beaches there with some tropical storm force winds there, as well. then a cooler weekend to follow. a look at labor day into next week and the latest on earl in ten minutes. how is the traffic? starting you off with a little bit of trouble out of ash burn. we have traffic signals dark along route 7. police on the scene. no problems to report, those headlines traveling on the

dulles toll road headed towards the kalt beltway and then along the bottom of your screen is 28 which is also equally as quiet. coming down 270 southbound, we started you off with accident activity by 109. that is in the clearing stages. no problems to report from 109 to the beltway. 5:#42 is the time. still to come, why you may want to drive extra carefully this morning. also the glitch is fixed, but anyone going to the dmv can expect a real headache to ghin today. plus an update on the two suspects detained because of some suspicious luggage. and we've seen dramatic video from outside. ahead wael hear about what happened inside the discovery building. >> lock us in the offices, that

the discovery channel

building in silver spring has been given the all clear. police comb through the building all night looking for explosives after a man with at least one device took three people hostage in the building's lobby. montgomery county police now tell nbc news that no other explosives were found. the two employees and a security guard were thought hurt during the four hour standoff. police eventually shot and killed the gunman identified as james lee, a plan who had protested discovery in the past. this morning discovery employees are recovering from yesterday's harrowing ordeal. 1900 employees work at its headquarters in silver spring. nearly all of them were evacuated safely. news 4's tracy tracee wilkins with what happened. >> reporter: the good news is that one was injured. one of the vps of discovery said that had everything to do with the culture of the building, the people who work inside answer the fact that they were prepared for something like there to

happen and that when it happened, they moved quickly. >> a notice came over the p.a. system saying that there was a situation in the lobby. >> reporter: they would soon learn just how serious that situation was. >> they told us that it's a gunman in the lobby and for us to lock ourselves in closed offices. >> reporter: and for those who were out of the building when it started -- >> people were cry, they were scared. nobody knew what was going on. >> reporter: they found themselves returning to chaos. >> yeah, we were coming back from lunch about 1:00 and as we got near the discovery building, someone started shouting, a street vendor started shouting that there was a man in there with a gun and we shouldn't go in there. >> reporter: e-mail communications answered questions for those watching outside and confirmed what was happening. >> and then an e-mail came through saying there was police coming in the building. >> reporter: police rushed to surround the building. the nearly 2,000 workers inside were given specific directions forgetting out. >> they told us to evacuate

through a nearby stairwell and that's how we came down. >> they evacuated us to one wing of the building, the georgia side of the building, and we waited there for a little while and someone came through and said exit the building out to the parking good ranlg. >> reporter: heads up for commuters. here on wayne avenue, they still have one lane blocked here closest to the south side of the discovery communications building. so be prepared for that this morning. i'm tracee wilkins live in silver spring. back to you in the studio. and we will have much more on the standoff situation throughout the morning newscast. you can also get the time line of the events at nbcwashington.c nbcwashington.com. now to the very active hurricane season. take a look he three systems we're keeping a close eye on. first hurricane earl which is set to clip the east coast about a da. right behind it, fionna and gas ton. as earl creeps closer, many emergency officials are making the decision on whether to order

evacuations or not. chris taken kristen dahlgren is live in kill devil hills, north carolina. >> reporter: yeah, we're along north care carry's outer banks and we've heard so much over the past two days about where exactly earl is going to track. the bottom line this morning is it may not really matter that much because hurricane force winds extend out about 90 miles from the center. and tropical storm force winds about 200 miles from the center. so along much of the coast, things about to get much worse. >> reporter: as darkness fell on the carolina coast, earl strengthened, bringing with it powerful waves. but also uncertainty. >> earl is a big unknown. if it stays out to sea, we probably would have been okay. >> do you board up? >> i haven't yet. to this point. but this might be the first. >> reporter: but officials warn that the slightest change could bring a direct hit and that either way, hurricane or tropical storm force winds are

now less than a day away. and so on parts of the outer banks, mandatory evacuations are under way and watches and warnings in effect for north carolina all the way to new england. a huge stretch of the east coast in the strike zone. >> the hurricane's coming and i'm hoping we can make it back into town fairly quickly. i'm a little nefrk us about the roads and backups for the evacuations. >> reporter: and so anxious vacationers packed in their weekend plans headed to safer ground. while on new york's long island, marinas hauled boats out of the water. >> the tidal surge will be tremendous. above all the pilings. if a piling comes down on one of the boats, it will sink. >> reporter: as hill i don't knows now watch to see where earl will go, the storm already crashing labor day weekend plans up and down the coast. and back live now, we're beginning to see the sun come up over the horizon and that's giving us a better view of the surf that is really just

churning. reporting yesterday we saw a surfer come out of the water, his surf board snapped in half. that gives you some idea of the power here along the outer banks. the worth of it expected overnight tonight and into tomorrow. >> thanks very much, kristen. and martin o'malley is getting ready to earl. he signed a declaration of emergency requiring management officials to coordinate all of their efforts. the storm is also why thousands will get their social security checks early. the social security administration is delivering them a day ahead of schedule on the east coast so that the hurricane does not delay that process. earl is making those summer storms feel like a distant memory, but many pepco customers will never forget held. tonight they will get another chance to let out their frustration tonight. the maryland public service commission skied to host two public hearings about the rely ability and quality of the utility company. over the summer, several storms caused major power outages that affected nearly half a million

customers. many customers attended a public hearing in rockville earlier this week.second public hearing will be held tonight in largo. it gbegins at 6:00 p.m. and tom is here to talk about our forecast as we head into a long holiday weekend. >> big concerns at the atlantic beaches as earl approaches. here's what's been happening over the last 12 hours. earl did gain strength overnight and has a well formed eye. the winds are now at a 145-mile-an-hour and where you see the outer area of orange, that's the area ofropical storm force winds that are will likely by midnight tonight be right near cape hatteras. in fact, they may even be near hurricane force winds right near the outer banks by midnight tonight. and some tropical storm force winds will likely be moving in to virginia beach, southeastern virginia, around midnight tonight, as well. those tropical storm force winds will be felt from maryland,

delaware, and virginia shore line by perhaps around 8:00 tomorrow morning through moon time. and then the storm will gradually weaken and gain strength and quickly move up toward new england by midnight on friday night. it will likely be near cape cod as a category 3 hurricane, but even though the track is going to be off the coast, the effects are going to be felt closer to the atlantic beaches in the form of perhaps near tropical storm force winds. in fact this is a hurricane watch out now from delaware bay down to virginia beach and 40 to 60-mile-an-hour gusts will be likely tomorrow morning all along our atlantic beaches with tropical rains coming through. but generally west of the bay, it should be dry. now this morning our temperatures around the region are in the 70s. 77 in washington. and we have a clear sky here now and we'll have a sunny day. it will be hot again, probably not quite as hot as yesterday. some high clouds coming in by later this afternoon. sunrise 6:3, sunset 7:37. and then a few clouds around

tonight will be in the upper 70s by midnight and near 07 by dawn tomorrow. and in the morning, the atlantic beaches getting pounded by heavy surf and very strong winds, gusting to 60 miles an hour and tropical bands of heavy rain coming in, but here there's just a small chance of a passing shower from washington points east during the day on friday. highs mid-80s. breezy and cooler saturday with the sunshine back. we start off the labor day weekend highs near 80. sunny on sunday near 80 and a beautiful labor day low to mid-80s with low humidity. near 90, back to work and school on tuesday into wednesday. ashley, how is the traffic? let's start off with a new accident, 395 as you head in the southbound direction, camera shot looking at 110 where we've got the accident blocking the right side of the roadway. fortunately volume not a huge factor, but cones are out. the not best camera shot, but you see nonetheless. elsewhere around town as we take a trip around the kalt beltway no big signs of trouble as of kret.

we have overnight road construction all cleared up and as we travel along 270 headed in the southbound direction, are you going to find some company as you make your way down past 109, but here the space just fine down towards the kalt belt wi. >> thanks, ashley. the extra have a dmv computer glitch is fixed and that means you can finally get your driver's license renewed. the computer glitch kept thousands from getting their licenses renewed. today all 74 dmvs in the commonwealth will be fully operational. as many as 45,000 virginians have thought been able on to renew their licenses since the problem began last week. and if you need to get your license renewed, you will have more time to do it. all dmvs will remain open until 6:00 p.m. tonight and tomorrow. hours of operation will be extended on saturday at 14 dmvs includings facilities in alex an dree, a wood bridge and leesburg. new today, washington, d.c. came out on the bottom for driving safety for the second year in a row.

allstate insurance found the region among the worst for crashes. ft. collins, colorado took the top honors as being the safest. d.c. ranked 193rd with drivers averaging one accident every five years. arlington didn't do very well either ranking 174th with each driver involved in an accident roughly every seven years. now to decision 2010. d.c. mayor adrian fenty says he wants voters to give him another chance. penity and his opponent squared off in an hour long debate upon soared by nbc 4, the "washington post," and wamu 88.5 radio. fenty acknowledged his personality has turned off too many voters. gray said fenty has hasn't a change of heart, because change of strategy. >> they see dramatic improvement

in the city, but what they want from me in the second term is someone who makes sure we bring in to account more people's views, listen better. with my high energy and with the commitment and what i've heard from residents, we're committed to doing that in the second term. it's a lesson learned. >> frankly, i don't think it's a change of heart. i think it's a change of strategy. and that is to try convince people now that i'm going to be a different person than i've been for three years and 8 1/2 months of a term that you're going to become a different person in two weeks. i don't think so. >> you can watch the debate in its entirety today at noon right here on nbc 4. early voting is under way. you can cast your ballot at the district of columbia board of elections office on 4th street northwest. metro will open its 4th street entrance from 8:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. this saturday and next saturday. dutch authorities released two men suspected of conducting a dry run for an airline terror

attack. investigators arrested the two monday in amsterdam after they got off a united airlines flight from chicago. u.s. law enforcement requested their arrest. a prosecutor said airport screenings showed possible explosives in luggage belonging to one of the men, but more tests later disproved that theory. dutch authorities say the two men were leased due to lack of evidence. metro says complying with federal recommend lagss after last year's fatal red line crash could cost at least $935 million. the most expensive change would be to replace the transit agency's oldest railcars, that would cost about $838 million. metro estimates replacing the track circuit modules blamed for the june 2009 crash would cost $55 million. that red line crash killed nine people and injured dozens of others. coming up next at 6:00, we're learning more about the hostages held during that standoff at the discovery building. and

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i have a gun and i have a bomb. >> police spent the night searching for explosives inside the discovery building. a gunman stormed the building and took three hostages. >> it happened so quick. people were crying, they were scared. nobody knew what was going on. >> after a four hour standoff, police shot and killed the gunman. this morning we're learning more about him and why he was so upset with discovery communications. good morning and thanks for joining us for news 4 today. i'm eun yang. >> i'm joe krebs. today on this thursday, the 2nd day of september, 2010. take a live look outside right now. 74 degrees. looks like a decent day, but mild and calm, but storms are a brewing. >> and tom is here to give us the latest on those storms aunts our forecast, as well.

>> the tropical atlantic is all lit up with named storms on this thursday morning. the most important one, of course, is earl. earl has gained strength overnight and over the last 12 hours, the well formed eye of earl advancing to the north, leading edge of any rains now about # 00 miles to the east of cap hatteras. it's a category four hurricane with winds of 145-mile-an-hour moving north lsh northwest at about 16 miles an hour. it looks like it will stay a category 4 storm until midnight tonight when it will just be east of cape hatteras and outer banks will be whipped by hurricane for the winds. moving in to southeast virginia and then along our eastern shore during the morning hours tomorrow, then it will move into new england tomorrow night. and the atlantic beaches could have very heavy surf as well as tropical heavy rains coming in along with those very strong winds on friday. sunny today, low 90s. and then over the weekend, things settle down and we cool

down, as well. ashley, how is the traffic? accident activity on 395 against the main flow of traffic in the southbound direction, but there it is right at 110. you will see that the right lane is still blocked and the tow trucks are definitely still on scene as we travel around the capital beltway are a little bit of volume greets you out of college park toward silver spring, but we're rolling issue free out of deams cuss, a major accident at about ba thez today church road, reported as a head-on. unclear on lane information, but safe it say the intersection is shut down. that's 27. police are still stationed outside the discovery channel headquarters in silver spring hours after a gunman with explosives held three people hostage inside. this morning police say the building has been cleared and that no other explosives have been found. the suspected gunman identified as james lee was shot and killed by police.

we're also now knowing that he has staged protests outside that discovery building before. the three hostages were able to escape, no one was injured. it was a terribly fright anything or deal for the hundreds of employees who work in that building. >> megan mcgraph joins us live from the scene with more. >> reporter: good morning. just a horrifying situation for folks who work at the discovery building. it started off as an ordinary day. some folks were returning from lunch when suddenly a man with a bomb strapped to ace chest burst into the lob pi biand took hostages. police and s.w.a.t. teams moved in. what began as an ordinary day at the discovery channel downtown silver spring turned into a frightening hostage situation when james jay lee, armed with a gun and with apparent bombs strapped to his chest walked in to the lobby of the discovery building. >> it sounded like two pops.

it happened so quick. people were crying, they were scared. >> reporter: an internal e-mail was sent out telling them to shut themselves into the offices and not leave the building until given the all clear. lee then took three discovery workers hostage keeping them in a first floor room. in covering the developments, nbc news producers called discovery's general number. a man identifying himself as james lee answered the phone. >> i have a gun and i have a bomb. i have several bombs strapped to my body ready to go off. i have a device that if i drop it, if i drop it, i'll [ bleep ] explode. >> reporter: four hours in to it, the standoff came to an end when police say lee pointed a gun at one of the hostages and the s.w.a.t. team took action. >> our tactical officers were able to get into position where they were very close to him. they were watching him via

camera. it is reported that he pulled out the handgun that he came in with and pointed it at one of the hostages. >> reporter: at that point a member of the s.w.a.t. team fatally shot james lee. the hostages were not hurt. police spent the evening, the overnight hours, going through the building looking for additional bombs, additional explosive devices. they did not find anything. the all clear has been given, although police are going to maintain control of the lobby area for several more hours while they collect physical evidence. back to you all in the studio. >> thanks very much, megan. we're learning more about the three lossages. one of them is a former nbc 4 employee. jim mcnulty was trapped inside the lobby of the discovery building for four hours yesterday. after being questioned extensively by police, the three hostages were able to go home last night. mcnulty post this had statement on his facebook page, quote, first of all, i want to thank

the montgomery county police and all the agencies that spnded today for helping to ensure the safety of all my colleagues at discovery communications and for helping to get me and my fellow hostages out safely. this morning a clear he picture is emerging of exactly who this gunman is. his name was james lee. he lived in our area for the last several years. and his animosity toward discovery has been well documented. he was previously convicted of disorderly conduct after organizing a protest outside the downtown silver springs building. he was angry about the network's programming. elaine reyes has more. >> people who were aware of lee say he appeared to be troubled and a transient with no known home. it's not cheer how and where he was able to get the weapons and the homemade explosive devices. 43-year-old james lee was well-known to some at the discovery channel. he targeted them with protests

in person and online. take a look at this video from a past incident in front of the building back in 2008. he was arrested for disorderly conduct and in this youtube video, lisa in the middle of the crowd throwing money in the air. he wanted more discovery channel shows on saving the planet and reduce the births what have he called parasitic human infants. lee would frequent a silver springs bookstore and we spoke with one woman who has had contact with him and even read a book that he had promoted. >> he threw it up in the air. >> what did he do, just take a huge stack of money and -- >> he just threw it in the air. don't know why. so that's made i when, his behavior was a little odd. >> reporter: lee has had previous addresses in hawaii, california and washington state, but he has lived in our area the past several years. in fact, he'd received services at shepherd's table in silver spring, an organization that provides help for the homeless. but apparently he did not rae main in that program.

joe, back to you. >> thanks very much, elaine. 6:08 is your time. 74 degrees. we'll have much more on the hostage situation at discovery throughout the hour. also all the computers at the dmv are working properly. but there are some things you'll need to know. hurricane earl is getting closer and stronger. just how close it will get to land. 74 degrees right now. 6:08 is our time. weather and traffic together on the 1s next.

right now we've got a clear sky, sunrise about 30 minutes away. 75 at washington, near 70 prince george's, arlington, fairfax. and throughout much of the region, we're near 70. afternoon highs with a lot of sunshine into the low 90s. high clouds coming in late this afternoon and overnight tonight. partly sunny on friday around the metro area. small chance of a passing shower. highs in to the mid-80s. but likely heavy down pours, tropical storm force winds and heavy surf at the atlantic beaches as earl passes by friday morning through midday. though it should clear the beaches and head north. weekend looks great. each day in the low 80s and lots of sunshine. the latest on earl in ten minutes. how is the traffic? we'll start you off with a

problem on the freeway headed in the westbound direction. the issue yesterday and today was potholes and there's pressure pavement, so we have police officers out there waving flashlights to slow drivers down because numerous vehicles have gotten flat tires. across the 14th street bridge, no problems headed in to the city. along 270, no problems, but up towards the top of the screen, a little bit of volume just beyond father hurley. computer problems at the virginia dmv are now fixed. we have important information before you head out to try to get your license. also a good old bench clearing brawl. find out why one player was so upset. and what it was like for the hundreds of discovery employees during that hostage stan

list are telling nbc news that the discovery channel building in silver spring is all clear. this comes after a man strapped with explosives took three people inside hostage.

those hostages eventually escaped safely and the gunman was shot and killed by police. this morning we're learning he had a history of anger towards discovery and had staged protests there before. some streets around the discovery building are still blocked off, so drivers in the area should allow for extra time. the nearly 1900 people who work in that building were able to evacuate safely as we said. right now the building does remain closed at this hour. it will apparently reopen from 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. today. discovery executives will be there to talk to employees at 11:00 and counselors will be available. after 1:00, the building will close again, though, until next tuesday. this morning discovery employees are recovering from that harrowing ordeal. tracee wilkins is live outside of discovery headquarters with more on their story. >> reporter: discovery executives said yesterday that it is the culture of the employees there inside of that discovery building that helped to make sure that everybody got

out safely and there were no serious incidents in terms of injuries for employees trying to get out. >> a notice came over the p.a. system saying that there was a situation in the lobby. >> reporter: they would soon learn just how serious that situation was. >> they told us that it's a gun man in the lobby and for to us lock ourselves in closed offices. >> reporter: and for those who were out of the building when it started -- >> people were crying. they were scared. nobody knew what was going on. >> reporter: they found themselves returning to chaos. >> yeah, we were coming back from lunch about 1:00 and as we got near the discovery building, someone started shouting, a street vendor started shouting that there was a man in there with a gun and we shouldn't go in there. >> reporter: e-mail communication from discovery answered questions for those watching from outside and confirmed what was happening. >> and an e-mail came through saying that there was believed to be a gunman in the building. >> reporter: as police rushed to surround the building, the nearly 2,000 workers inside were

given specific directions forgetting out. >> they told to us evacuate through a nearby stairwell. and that's all of us came down. >> they evacuated us to one wing of the building, the fwrg side of the building. and we waited there for a little while and then someone came through and said exit the building out to the parking garage. >> reporter: again, a very frightening situation, a very confusing situation for the folks who work inside the discovery building, and also other people here in the silver spring area who were dealing with all that happened. and it happened so quickly. tracee wilkins, live this morning in silver spring. back to you in the studio. and we'll have much more on this standoff situation throughout our morning newscast. you can get the time line of events at nbcwashington.com. today virginians will finally be able to get their driver's licenses renewed again. the dmv computer glitch is fixed. the problem kept thousands of virginians from getting their licenses renewed. today all 74 whether be fully

operational. as many as 45,000 virginians have not been able to renew their licenses since the problem began last week. and if you need to get your license renewed, you'll have more time to do it. all dmvs will remain open until 6:00 p.m. today and tomorrow. hours of operation will be extended on saturday at 14 including facilities in alex ie dry a and fair oaks. the maryland public service commission is hosting two public hearings about the rely ability and quality of the pepco utility company. over the summer several storms caused major power outages that affected nearly half a million customers. many customers attended a public hearing in rockville earlier this week. the second public hearing will be held tonight in largo. it begins at 6:00 p.m. at the prince george's county community college. and we will be keeping a close watch on the developments of

hurricane earl today. even the slightest turn could mean trouble for the east coast. tropical storms fionna and gaston will also causing childrens. president obama declared an emergency for north carolina and that hows the department of homeland security and fema to coordinate disaster relief efforts. meanwhile many vacationers are obeying the orders and leaving the outer banks ahead of a long holiday weekend. >> hoping we can neighboring back into town fairly quickly. i'm a little nervous about the roads and the babackups. >> governor o'malley signed a declaration of emergency requiring state emergency management officials to coordinate their activities. and let's take a live look outside right now. the sun is on its way up. right now still hiding behind the horizon, 73 degrees. a beautiful looking day right now so far on this second day of

meteorological fall. >> it we can deal with a couple more hot day, we're in for a lovely weekend. >> but first earl. here's what's been happening over the last 12 hours. it has a well defined eye. it has gained in strength overnight. the winds are now at 145-mile-an-hour. it is a powerful category 4 hurricane. the pressure continues to drop. where you see that outer band of orange, those are tropical storm force winds that will likely be moving by midnight tonight across eastern north carolina, southeastern virginia. that will be by midnight tonight. and then tomorrow right around this time at the atlantic beaches from virginia through maryland and delaware, tropical storm force wind, bands of heavy rain and very heavy surf. then the storm moves off to the northeast and pulls away, weakens a bit, moves through new england by midnight friday night. here today, bright and sunny, temperatures climbing in to the low 90s. right now we're in the 70s.

and then tomorrow, partly sunny, a small chance of a shower here around the metro area. but a likelihood of that of course on the eastern shore, highs in the low to mid-80s. then cooler, breezy on saturday, near 80. sunny. sunny sunday near 80, labor day looks terrific, sunny into the low 80s, low humidity. near 90 tuesday and wednesday. ashley, how is the traffic? >> starting you off this early morning with delays. 95 headed northbound, volume on the increase as you travel through newington, but certainly not jammed up and the hovs are doing just fine this morning. as you travel elsewhere around the toll road, headlights headed out, we do have a big problem growing out of the district in the way of extremely nasty pavement along the freeway head hed westbound. they just milled the pavement, so police are urging drivers to use caution through this stretch and also they're out in the roadway waving flashlights. so that's proving to be quite the interesting situation. so use caution if you're

traveling westbound along the freeway. back to you. trying to get your attention, so pay attention. thanks very much, ashley. 6:22 is your time. 73 degrees. new information about the gunman and the hostages he took inside the discovery headquarters in silver spring. and you're watching a baseball game and a huge fight broke out. or is it

the redskins will play their final preseason game tonight. they head to arizona to take on the cardinals. the team will be without quarterback donovan mcnabb who is still nursing a sprained ankle. and you can watch the action tonight at 10:00 p.m. right here on nbc 4. and if you're watching the nationals game, you might have thought it was a hockey game. in the top of the sixth inning last night, the nationals nyjer morgan charged the mound after marlins chris volstad threw a pitch behind him. morgan had been hit by a pitch from volstad earlier in the game. all this came one day after morgan separated a shoulder of the catcher when colliding with him at home plate. morgan and volstad were both ejected among others. what a mess. >> contact sport. i'd hate to be found under that pile of baseball players. >> that would be a story, if they took everybody apparent and found you. >>. coming up next, we're learning more about those

hostages. and also more about the gunman and his motive as police spent all night searching the building.

i have a gun and i have a

bomb. >> the chilling phone conversation with the man who stormed the discovery headquarters. this morning we're learning more about the gunman and his grudge against the network. good morning and welcome back to "news 4 today." i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm eun yang. it is thursday, september 2nd, 2010. we're taking a live look outside. it is 73 degrees. sun almost up. beautiful sky out there. and tom's been busy tracking earl and the other tropical storms out there in the atlantic. >> but for the hurricane, we'll have a nice weekend. >> after that, yeah. it does look like a wonderful weekend to follow. but we have to get through earl tomorrow. and look at the three named storms, powerful earl, and then fionna and gaston. right now earl continues to gain strength. it has gained strength overnight, it has a well defined eye. you can easily see that there. it's now east of jacksonville, florida. about 300 miles. and it's traveling off to the northwest at about 16 miles per

hour with 145-miles-per-hour wind. this is a powerful category 4 storm. and it does appear that it will maintain that category 4 strength throughout the rest of the day today and then by midnight tonight, it will be right near cape hatteras. right over the outer banks of north carolina and into virginia beach. the outer circle of orange is the zone of potential tropical storm force winds. so eastern north carolina, southeastern virginia, likely seeing tropical storm force winds here by midnight tonight. and then right along the atlantic shore line, virginia, maryland an delaware beaches, tropical storm force wind during the morning tomorrow and through noon time, and then the storm will gradually weaken after it gets past virginia beach, maybe a category 3 storm when it's east of ocean city and it does appear that the center of circulation will remain offshore. however, the atlantic beaches will likely get whipped with strong winds as well as heavy surf and bands of heavy rain

tomorrow. for this morning, we're in the mid-70s in washington, near the bay near 07 to mid-60s elsewhere. highs low 90s with sunshine, partly cloudy, small chance of a shower here, but a likelihood of course on the beaches. and then a breezy start to saturday, sunny, high near 80, low humidity and a beautiful sunday near 80. it looks like it will be great on labor day, too. ashley, how is the traffic? we're starting off with some delays. let's take a look 270 headed southbound from 109 down, frnly no major accidents. they've all been cleared, but do you have delays elsewhere around the region, as you travel along 395, the earlier accident that we had at 110 has been reared. that was in the southbound direction. but now outbound on the 14th street bridge, we have a new issue. single file to the right will get you by. and as we continue northbound with those brake lights, those taillights headed up toward the district, you will find westbound along the freeway freshly milled pavement between 8th and 11th streets, causing big problems, a lot of potholes

and a lot of bailed out traffic along pennsylvania. so plan ahead. back to you. downtown silver spring remains an active crime scene this morning. hours after a standoff inside thexd discovery channel's headquarters. after combing through the building all night, police have given it the all clear. yesterday afternoon, a gunman with explosives held three people hostage inside the lobby of the building. those hostages eventually escaped safely.gunman identified as james lee was shot andñr kild by police. we've since learned that he has protested outside the discovery building before. most of discovery's 1900 employees were sack eighted safely as news spread that a gun man was there in the building. >> megan mac grcgrath joins us with more. >> reporter: investigators have been here at the discovery building all night long. you can take a look behind me. you can see that they are looking at an area in front of the building alongside the building, there's bushes there

they're using flashlights and combing through that area looking for additional physical evidence here. now, a very frightening situation for the employees that work in this building. many were just returning from lunch when all of a sudden a man with a bomb strapped to his chest and waving a gun burst into the lobby and took hostages. police and s.w.a.t. teams moved in this. what began as an ordinary day at the discovery channel downtown silver spring turned into a frightening hostage situation when james jay lee, armed with a gun and with apparent bombs strapped to his chest walked in to the lobby of the discovery building. >> it sounded like two pops. it happened so quick. people were crying, they were scared. >> reporter: an internal e-mail was sent out telling them to shut themselves into the offices and not leave the building until given the all clear. lee then took three discovery

workers hostage keeping them in a first floor room. in covering the developments, nbc news producers called discovery's general number. a man identifying himself as james lee answered the phone. >> i have a gun and i have a bomb. i have several bombs strapped to my body ready to go off. i have a device that if i drop it, if i drop it, i'll [ bleep ] explode. >> reporter: four hours in to it, the standoff came to an end when police say lee pointed a gun at one of the hostages and the s.w.a.t. team took action. >> our tactical officers were able to get into position where they were very close to him. they were watching him via camera. it is reported that he pulled out the handgun that he came in with and pointed it at one of the hostages. >> reporter: one of the members

of the s.w.a.t. team opened fire and fatally shot james lee. none of the hot damages were hurt. in terms of the building itself, the lobby area is going to remain under the control of police for several more hours. that's what we're told. but in terms of the rest of the building, they have gone through it, no other additional explosives were found and so the all clear has been given. should also mention that a section of wayne avenue alongside the building is still closed and that may be the case for a good part of the day, as well. back to you in the studio. >> megan, thank you. and this morning we're learning more about the three hostages. one of them is a rm follower nbc 4 employee. jim mcnulty was trapped inside the lobby of the discovery building for four hours yesterday. after being questioned extensively by police, the three hostages were able to go home last night. mcnull itity then posted a statement on his facebook page, quote, first of all, i want to thank the montgomery county police and all the agencies that responded today for helping to ensure the safety of all myle

colleagues at discovery communications and for help to go get me and my fellow hostages out safely. the standoff may be over, but questions still remain about the gunman, who was james lee, where was he from, and what led to his anger at discovery. here is some of what we know. he was 43 years old, he has previous addresses in hawaii, california and washington state. he had lived in our area for the past several years. and he was apparently angry with discovery's programming. news 4's elaine reyes is live with more. >> james lee was well-known to some at the discovery channel. he targeted them with protests in person and online and as you mentioned, has apparently lived in our area for the past several years. take a look at this video from the past incident in front of the headquarters building. back in 2008, he was arrested for disorderly conduct. and in it youtube video, lee is in the middle of the crowd throwing money into the air. he apparently wanted more discovery channel shows on

saving the planet and to reduce the births of what he called parasitic human infants. the judge gave him a six month suspended sentence and warned him he could face 60 days in jail if he ever again came within 500 feet of the building. the people who were aware of lee say he appeared to be trouble and a transient with no money home. it's not clear where and how h he was able to obtain weapons. and those homemade explosive devices. >> there were a lot of people that said he's just crazy, and blew it off. >> twhafs about mr. lee's clothes that you were telling me earlier? >> political taker. military style. like he was in battle. >> shortly before yesterday's attack, he apparently posted a list of his demands online. he also received services at she were erd's table, that's an organization that helps provide for the homeless, but apparently he did not stay in that program.

>> rela elaine, thank you. we'll have more on the investigation into the hostage standoff at discovery throughout this newscast. hurricane earl is gaining strength as it moves closer to land. the impact it will have up and down the east coast over the next few days. d.c. mayor fenty makes an admission in his efforts to make up ground against vincent gray. now 73 degrees. another hot day, but we're in store for a gorgeous weekend. we'll be relate back.

mid-70s in washington and right near the bay. and for the bus stop forecast, should an beautiful morning for children there in the 60s to low and mid-70s. and we'll have temperatures by noon time the upper 80s and then the low 90s by midafternoon and a clear to partly cloudy night tonight, we'll be near 07 by dawn tomorrow. during the day on friday, tropical storm force winds at the atlantic beaches swell heavy rain, but here just a small chance of a shower. highs in the mid-80s.

looks like a great weekend to toll. details on labor day, a look into next week and the latest on earl. that's coming up in ten minutes. ashley, how is the traffic? this early morning, we have some delays for you out of virginia on northbound 95. volume on the increase heading up toward the capital beltway. 395, no big problems to report there. as we travel to and across the 14th street bridge, you'll find lanes are open right now, but we've got some freshly milled payment between both 8th and the 11th street bridge. so that's causing big potholes and people to get flat tires. expect a lot of delays and traffic on pennsylvania. >> thanks very much, ashley. 6:42 is your time. 74 degrees. all of the computers at the dmv are back up and running again, but there are things you need to though before you get your license. >> take a look at that sun behind the beautiful picture. hurricane earl is getting closer and stronger. the effect it will have on the beaches in maryland and virginia.

the day ahead for employees at discovery. a heavy police presence remains this morning following a hostage standoff with a gunman who was holding explosives and a grudge.

the main lobby of the discoverly channel building in silver spring remains on lockdown. police combed through the entire building looking for explosives after a man with at least one device ook three people hostage inside that lobby. montgomery county police now tell nbc news that no other explosives were found. the two employees and a security guard were not hurt during the four hour standoff. police eventually shot and killed the gunman identified as james lee, a man who had protested discovery in the past. hundreds of people who work in the discovery building were safely evacuated, as well as dozens of children who attend the daycare center there. about 70 children and their teachers were escorted by police across the street. in some cases the infants and young children were doubled up in cribs and actually wheeled across the street and down the sidewalk. the students at the nearby st. michael's school were also in

lockdown situation until the hostage standoff was over. the main lobby will remain closed for several more hours, we're told the entire building will reopen until 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. today. discovery executives will be there to talk to employees at 11:00 and counselors will be available. after 1:00, the building will close again until next tuesday. the employees are still recovering from the harrowing ordeal. we spoke with a couple of witnesses who were inside the building at the time the gunman entered. >> a notice came over the p.a. system saying that there was a situation in the lobby and so we were trying to get to offices and be safe and looking out the window at the same time and seeing police circling up around the building. >> they told thaws it's a gunman in the lobby and for us to lock ourselves in closed offices. >> others said there were lots of confusion, but eventually officials told the employees to leeft building.

no employees were injured. and we'll have much more on this standoff situation throughout our morning newscast. you can also get the time line of events at nbcwashington.com. and now to the very busy atlantic hurricane season. we have three systems to watch this morning. p two tropical storm, fionna and gaston, but the most immediate, hurricane earl, which will brush the north carolina coast today. nbc's kristen dahlgren has more on the efforts to keep people safe. >> reporter: as darkness fell, earl strikes, bringing with it powerful waves, but also uncertain i. >> earl is a big you known. if it stays out to sea, we probably would have been okay and gotten rain. >> do you board up? >> i haven't yet to this point, but this might be the first. >> reporter: but officials warn that the slightest change could bring a direct hit and that either way, hurricane or tropical storm force winds are now less than a day away. and so on parts of the outer

banks, mandatory evacuations are under way and watches and warnings in effect for north carolina all the way to morning. a huge stretch of the east coast in the strike zone. >> the hurricane's coming and i'm hoping we came make it back into town fairly quickly. i'm a little nerve this us about the roads and the backups for the evacuations. >> and so anxious vacationers packed in their weekend plans headed to safer ground, while on new york's long island, they haul boats out of the water. >> the tidal surge will be tremendous. if a piling comes down on one these boats, it will sink. >> as millions now watch to see where earl will go, the storm already crashing labor day weekend plans up and down the coast. >> reporter: here in north carolina, national guard troops have already been deployed along the coast and the president has cheered the way for federal aid fina now standing by to assist after the storm you can the worth of it along the outer banks expected sometime

overnight tonight and into the morning. in kill devil hills, north carolina, kristen dahlgren, news 4 today. and tom kierein will have the latest coming up in just a moment or so. today virginians will finally be able to get their driver's license renewed again. virginia dmv computer glitch is fixed. the problem kept thousands of virginians from getting their licenses renew. today all 74 dmvs in the common wealth will be fully separation al. as many as 45,000 virginians have not been able to renew their licenses since the problem began last week. and if you need to get your license renewed, you will have more time to do it. all dmvs h remain open until 6:00 p.m. tonight and tomorrow. hours of operation will be extended on saturday at 14 dmvs including the facilities in alexandria, fair oaks and leesburg. pepco customers can voice your frustrations tonight. there are two public hearings about the reliability and quality of that utility company.

over the summer, several storms caused major power outages that affected nearly a half million customers. many customers attended a public hearing in rockville earlier this week. the second public hearing will be held tonight in largo, it begins at 6:00 at the prince george's county community college. now to the race for d.c. mayor. fenty says he wants voters to give him another chance. fenty and his opponent, vincent gray, squared off in an hour long debate spoknsoreded by nbc 4, the "washington post" and 88.5 radio. fenty acknowledged his personality has turned off too many voters. gray says fenty has had a change of heart, because change of strategy. >> they see dramatic improvement in the city, but what they want from me in the second term is someone who makes sure we bring to cat more people's view, listen better. with my high energy and with the commitment and what i've heard from residents, we're committed to doing that. it's a lesson learned.

>> frankly, i don't think it's a change of heart. i think it's a change of strategy. and that is to try to convince people now that i'm going to be a different person than i've been for three years and 8 1/2 months of a term that you're going to become a different person in two weeks, i don't think so. >> fenty made a strong appeal, but even some of his supporters say it may have come too late to save him. and you can watch the debate in its its entirety today at noon. happening today, formal mideast peace negotiations begin here in washington. last night president obama hosted israeli and palestinian leaders at the white house. this is the first direct talks between the two groups in nearly two years. secretary of state hillary clinton, jordan's king abdullah and britain's tony blair will take part in the negotiations to try to create a palestinian state. the plan is to come up with a peace deal by this time next

year. 6:51 is our time. tom has the latest on earl in the atlantic. >> it's a beautiful morning here. got a gorgeous sun up and a clear sky here, but let's take a look at the tropical atlantic. right now there's powerful hurricane earl and fionna, which is a tropical storm, has weakened a bit overnight. farther to the east is gaston which is a developing tropical storm. but fionna looks like it will track north. earl, though, is of great concern. that has a well defined eye. you can see that here. and the leading edge much the rain band now only about 100 miles to the south and east of the outer banks. earl has winds of 145 miles an hour, it gained strength overnight, the pressure has dropped. it's moving north/northwest at about 16. but it is going to begin to take a turn more to the north and then to the north and east thankfully. now, this area of orange, the

tropical storm force wind zone looks like by midnight tonight, it will be over the lower eastern shore, southeastern virginia and all across eastern virginia. in fact the outer banks may have hurricane for the winds by midnight tonight. and then it will gradually weaken after that as it goes by our atlantic seaboard, virginia, maryland, delaware beaches. during the morning hours, midday hours tomorrow is when it will be the center of circulation, 75 to 100 miles to the east. but close enough for tropical storm force winds there with winds maybe 40 to 60-mile-an-hour. and certainly there could be heavy surf at the atlantic beaches. and then it moves through eastern new england, midnight tomorrow night into early saturday morning. now, go have hurricane watch up, this is very rare, for the delaware bay all the way down to southeastern virginia, virginia beach. this is all a hurricane watch which means hurricane conditions are possible there. and tropical storm warnings are up. it's in the mid-70s now in washington, nothing showing up on radar here yet, but we

certainly could see some tomorrow. for today, we'll have lots of sun, low 90s. and then tomorrow, partly sun any around the metro area, cloudy east with tropical winds coming through and with heavy surf and then saturday breezy and sunshine near 80. sunday, 80. labor day, beautiful sun, low to mid-80s. a bit hotter tuesday, wednesday. and you can check the weather anytime weather channel on cable. and now ashley how is the traffic? let's jump right in. virginia has delays. 66 headed east bound, earlier accident activity by 234. we do have that cleared, but certainly do have delays as we travel elsewhere around the region, 95 headed northbound, volume on the increase as you make your way out of newington, 395, no major issues to report, but we do have problems along the freeway westbound. the man hole covers are sticking up along the right side. this is between eighth and the 11th street bridge. so we only have two lanes open right now and that's causing some big headaches and a lot of

flat tires as you make your way along the freeway and there's also a new pavement across the sousa. back to you. police officers are stationed outside the discovery channel building in silver spring right now. hours after a gunman with explosives held three people hostage inside. >> none of the hostages was injured, but the suspected gunman was shot and killed. this morning we are learning more about the man and the motives behind his actions. megan mcgrath joins us from outside the discovery building in silver spring there. good morning, megan. >> reporter: good morning. it was a terrifying situation for folks who work here at the discovery building. it was the middle of the day, many employees had just returned from lunch when without warning a man with a bomb strapped to his chest and waving a gun burst into the lobby of the building and then took three hostages. there was a four hour standoff and it endeded when the s.w.a.t. team fatally shot the man now identified as james lee. now, police are still here on the scene.

they'll maintain control of the lobby area for several more hours while they continue to collect physical evidence. as for the rest of the building, they have gone new it and not found any other explosive materials inside. they have given the all clear. now sources tell news 4 that the building will open to employees at 10:00 a.m. this morning until #:00 in the afternoon. at 11:00, xwek differences will discovery will talk to employees and we're also told that there will be counselors on hand for anyone who needs to talk about what happened yesterday. back to you all in the studio. james lee was 43 years old. he had previous addresses in hawaii, california and washington state. but he has liveded in our area for the past several years. >> he orpged a protest outside the discovery building. he said that discovery did not have enough programming about environmental issues. the judge gave him a six month suspended sentence and warned him he could face 60 days in

jail if he ever again came within 500 feet of that building. and that is new 4/"today." thanks for starting your thursday with us. >> the "today" show is next. we'll be back here tomorrow morning bright and early at 4:30. hope you'll join us then. until then, have a great day. navigating today's real estate market is complicated. you've seen the signs. that's why having the right real estate agent is more important than ever. at remax.com, you can find experts in short sales or bank-owned properties or commercial real estate, agents who can help speed up the process, no matter how intricate. and that's good news,

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